


Actual Sunshine

by posingasme



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Art, Artist Castiel, Big Brother Dean, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 19:59:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4638306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posingasme/pseuds/posingasme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel's artwork was never meant to be on display. Especially not where Sam could see his own face. ESPECIALLY not where Dean could see Sam's face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Actual Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt fill. Hope you like!

The only thing worse than Sam Winchester seeing his own face on the wall was Dean Winchester seeing his kid brother’s face on the wall. Castiel Sera was probably going to have to transfer schools.

He had been staking out the hallway outside the library media center for his opportunity to steal his own artwork off the wall and throw it into a pit to Hell where no one but the Devil himself would ever see it again, when the too-familiar swagger of the toughest guy in the school made his heart drop into his shoes. Dean Winchester. Mean Dean Winchester. Not that anyone had the spine to say that out loud to the tower in the leather jacket, least of all Castiel.

There was no one else in the hall, and Castiel had been about to make his move. But there he was. His piercing green eyes locked right onto Castiel’s artwork, and he stopped his saunter and stared. His lips parted, then his jaw clenched.

In truth, Castiel did not scare easily. He was pretty tough himself. But everyone knew Dean had a reputation for kicking the ass of anyone who even looked sideways at his little brother. Castiel had heard that the last time, it had been some big junior named Gordon, and it had taken two of the football coaches and the school resource officer to pull Dean off of him, while he was still screaming about ripping the kid’s lungs out. Castiel never heard what Gordon had done to set him off, but he was pretty clear on the hands and eyes off Sam Winchester policy.

As Dean’s eyes narrowed at the large sketch on the wall, Castiel sighed and tried not to whimper. It really wasn’t his fault Sam was so fascinating. Maybe it was a little bit his fault that he had submitted his beautiful face as his final portfolio item for his art class. But how could he be blamed for that? He was an artist, and Sam Winchester was art!

Dean and Sam were four years apart in age, but only two years apart in grade level, because Sam had skipped a year back in elementary school, and Dean had been kicked out of school too much to keep up in his classes, and had failed an entire course load one year. So he was a senior, and Sam was a sophomore, and Castiel…Well, Castiel was right there in the middle as a junior. Why his heart couldn’t have waited just one more year to betray him, he didn’t know. At least then Dean would have graduated or dropped out, and Castiel wouldn’t be standing there hiding behind a doorway watching the guy staring down his own brother’s face on the art gallery wall where it had never occurred to him the teacher would place his work. He saw Dean lean into the wall and take note of the title card next to it, and that was that. Dean knew his name, had seen him referring to his brother’s dimpled, smiling face as “Actual Sunshine,” and he was going to have to transfer schools.

Any minute, the bell was going to ring, and a thousand students were going to be milling about, and he had to grab his work now. Ten minutes ago would have been better, but there had been no chance. And was there really any point in hiding from Dean forever? The guy would hunt him down eventually. He may as well own up right now, while he could be humiliated and beaten bloody in privacy before the rest of the student body came down to watch. Because Castiel was likely a match for almost any guy in the school, but nobody with half a brain considered himself a match for Dean Winchester when he was protecting his kid brother.

So with a deep breath, and a little prayer to a Heaven he wasn’t sure was tuned in to his frequency, he forced himself to step forward and approach his own artwork.

“I’m taking it down. I promise.” It was like trying to reassure a mother bear that he was just going to pet her cub, then leave it alone.

Green eyes cut to him.

He swallowed hard. “Look, it wasn’t supposed to be displayed. He…I never wanted him to see it. I never wanted anybody to see it. It was supposed to be graded and handed back, and nobody but Ms. Anael would have ever known I had even seen your brother’s face.”

“He don’t know you did it?” The voice was gruff, and Dean still did not turn toward him.

“Uh, no. I don’t think he’s…It just went up this period. My buddy Gabe saw it and texted me in class, and I ran down, but I haven’t been able to get it off the wall yet. Probably only a handful of people have seen it.”

Dean nodded, and his eyes turned back to the drawing. “It’s good.”

“I didn’t-" Castiel stopped. “What?”

“The piece. It’s good. You really got his eyes and his smile.”

Perhaps he had misunderstood. Or maybe Dean was lulling him into a false sense of security. “I’m taking it down,” he said again, because it was all he could think to say.

“Why?”

His head tilted in confusion. “I…I never meant for him to see it,” he repeated.

Dean shrugged, and at last turned to square his shoulders with the junior. “So let him see it. He’ll turn all red, but who cares? He should know somebody thinks his face is worth drawing.”

Castiel’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Then the big senior nodded, and his eyes softened, as he obviously realized that Castiel was braced for a fight. “You think I’m going to be pissed that you think my brother’s hot.”

It was exactly what Castiel had not expected to hear. His own face filled with a flush, and he shrugged. “I don’t…It isn’t like that. I just…”

A look of amusement came over Dean’s features then, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest to lean on the wall. “Okay. What’s it like?”

Anger was forcing its way up Castiel’s throat, and he was afraid he might vomit. Or punch Dean. “There’s nothing you need to worry about!” he insisted, glowering into those smirking green eyes. “It was just a dumb project, and it’s over now.”

“What was the assignment?”

And now his mouth went dry.

“What was the assignment? Was there some kind of prompt?”

He lowered his gaze guiltily. “To…capture a moment when all is right with the world.”

Dean was nodding as he looked back at the image of his brother’s shy laugh, mischievous but kind eyes peeking out from under wayward hair, his dimple prominent and his teeth showing just slightly. The older boy smiled back at the drawing. “I think you got it.” He sighed. “That’s how I know everything’s all right with the world. Sammy laughing. Some days, it’s the only thing right with the world.” He was quiet for just a moment, then he looked back at Castiel. “Let him see it,” he said firmly. “Leave it up, and when it does come down, I’ll buy it off you. And I’ll keep it to remind me that sometimes everything is all right.”

Castiel was stunned into silence. He made himself nod slowly.

The senior gave one last smile to the drawing on the wall, and turned to continue his walk back down the empty hallway. His voice floated back to Castiel as he sauntered away. “By the way, I hope you’re the junior art punk with the feather tattoo, the one in his history class that he’s infatuated with. Otherwise, this is going to get real awkward.”

Blue eyes turned to stare at the black feather on his wrist, and Castiel stopped breathing. Very, very slowly, a smile crept onto his face. He looked back at the drawing and grinned at it, then turned to race back to his history class, leaving the artwork exactly where it had been hung, for all the world to see that sometimes everything is all right.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are the way to let writers know that everything is (or isn't) all right. :)


End file.
